Quiet Reflections
by AngelMouse5
Summary: Andros visits Zhane and tries to come to terms with the changes in his life..


_Disclaimer: I don't own them, not sure who does. This is another Andros/Zhane friendship fic, set just before the episode Survival of the Silver. Please enjoy. Mouse, April, 2004._

**Quiet Reflections**

**By Mouse**

Andros had slipped away from the other Rangers and snuck into the engine room. He looked around it and seeing no one about entered the access code and slipped into the hidden chamber with practiced ease. The door closed quietly behind him and he moved slowly over to the middle of the room. A long metal cylinder was in the middle of the room, next to some medical equipment, and it was covered with a light coating of frost. Andros went over and put his hand on the case and sighed softly. Inside was the silver clad body of his best friend and each time he saw Zhane like this it tore at his heart. He sat his helmut on the bottom half of the case and brought the nearby stool over, sitting down by Zhane's head. His brown eyes were worried as he reflexively scanned the medical readouts. It was a ritual that he'd done many times beforehand. Still no change in Zhane's condition, as if he was expecting one and he gave a soft sigh once more. He reached up and put his hand on the glass, over where Zhane's hand was lying.

"Oh my friend, I really need you by my side right now." Andros's voice was soft and uncertain in the small room. Something that he would never show anyone else outside this room. He glanced up at the camera watching over them. "DECA, any change in the diagnosis?" When DECA replied, it sounded like she was regretful but giving the same answer that she had given many times before.

"I'm afraid not Andros. Zhane remains in a coma and in a stable condition while the healing chamber works to repair his injuries. The hypersleep tube was the only option you had to save his life Andros." Andros said nothing, having heard these words before. After a few moments he blinked and shook his head slightly as if dismissing her words. 

"I know. But that doesn't stop the memories, or the pain of being without him. DECA, make sure the other rangers don't come near here. I need some time alone with him."

"Yes Andros." The AI's presence faded away, leaving the two friends alone. Andros managed a tiny smile at his friend's still form.

"So much has happened my friend, since I last came and sat with you. I have a lot to tell you."

With a flick of his wrists, Andros demorphed and was just sitting there in his normal shipboard uniform, albeit slightly crumpled and worn. He leaned against the case, smiling gently down at his sleeping friend as he began speaking.

"About two months ago I managed to infiltrate a meeting of the higher ups in the Alliance of Evil." He paused and in his mind he could see his friends response as if he was standing there next to him. Zhane had always been one quick to act and not think, unlike Andros that day. A chance had come up and he took it without thinking it fully through, but that was water under the bridge now. But they were so close as friends, practically brothers, so he could tell what Zhane would have said to him going.

_"You did what? Andros are you nuts! If they had found you out sooner than they did, you'd have been killed. I can't leave you alone for a minute can I?"_ Andros laughed softly at the thought. If Zhane had been awake, the last would have been said in an extreme whine that Zhane was good at whenever Andros left him out of something.

"No you can't, can you my friend. I seem to be getting myself into all sorts of situations with out you here to watch my back. I need you to be here to watch my back, but I'm getting off track. Anyway, I found out Dark Spectre has Zordon and then managed to escape the meeting unharmed. Only to get back here and find that there were people on my ship!" Andros shook his head in memory of the four strangers standing there, looking shocked to see him arrive. "Anyway, Astronema attacked the ship and we crash landed on some deserted planet. They said they were Power Rangers, from Earth if you can believe that. Anyway, they helped me fight off some Quadtrons." Andros gave a tiny laugh. "You should have seen Ashley's face when I de-morphed and they discovered I was human." Echo's of what Zhane's reaction would be to that statement ran through his mind again.

_"I'll bet. You love pulling that trick on other people. Especially ones that haven't seen Power Rangers before. I think that you do it deliberately to get the reaction. Face it Andros, you love the attention." _The smile was warm on Andros's face, something the other rangers hadn't seen much of on the quiet leaders face.

"Yeah, I admit it was funny at the time, but I didn't tell them that. Anyway, I left them there after I repaired the megaship to search for Zordon, but Alpha convinced me I needed to go back and that we were meant to be a team. So, I went back, saved them from Astronema and gave them the rest of the Astro morphers. So, now, there's five of us living here." Andros sighed and leaned back, putting his head against his hand and looking down at Zhane. "It's strange having so many people living here, after being by myself for a bit over two years." Zhane's reaction to that statement would have been immediate and said with a straight face, but a wicked gleam in his blue eyes.

_"Two years! Ahh! I would have gone round the twist by now Andros. But then again, you were always the stronger of the two of us."_ Andros snorted softly.

"Only because I have to be lately Zhane, I never wanted to be. But let me tell you about my new friends. I think you'll like them when you meet them. When you wake up." Andros sounded like he was trying to convince himself of that fact, and it sounded like he'd said it quite a few times.

"Let's see, first, their's TJ. He's the Blue Ranger. He used to lead the turbo team back on Earth, but I think he's happy being my second in command instead. He's a good fighter, a strong person to boot. Very canny as well I think. He seems to have this air about him of being smarter than people think, but he gets underestimated a lot to by the enemy. He's a pretty reasonable pilot as well." Andros shifted slightly, turning around so his back was now leaning against the tube and he folded his arms, a tiny grin on his face as he spoke. "Cassie is sweet, she's the Pink Ranger. She has a lovely singing voice but a real wicked temper let me tell you. I think you'd like her, as she seems to have your sense of humour sometimes. She has this thing for Phantom; I haven't had the heart to tell her the truth about the Phantom Ranger though. I know, I know, I'm coward, but I'd like to see you try and tell her that the Phantom Ranger is already married to an Aquitian and an ex-Earth Power Ranger." Andros's smile was wide now and he could clearly hear Zhane's responses in his mind.

_"Yeah, you're a coward alright. It'll be funny though to see her face when she finds out. Billy must be having a field day with it. But I know him, he won't do anything to hurt her."_ Andros nodded as if to himself.

"I know he won't, but still, it's funny. Now, there's Carlos, he's the Black Ranger. He's the best fighter out of them all I think. He's very quiet though and thoughtful. He was the one that discovered my secret about my search for Karone and he was actually very supportive of it, they all are really. He's also a very good friend of Ashley's." Andros paused here, smiling widely at the thought of the yellow ranger that was worming her way into his heart. The look on her face when he gave her the birthday present was all that he needed to know that cared as much for him as he did for her.

_"Ashley is it? Don't tell me that someone's come along to thaw that ice block of a heart of yours?" _Andros snorted and shook his head. Zhane always was a subtle as a SledgeHammer when it came to affairs of the heart. But with his blonde hair, blue eyes and ready smile he could get away with practically anything.

"Yes, I like Ashley. I like her a lot. I can't wait for you to meet her Zhane, I truly can't. She's the Yellow Ranger and the most loving and kind person I've ever met. She was the one that truly got me to accept the other Rangers and helped us work together as a team. She's beautiful as well, not just in physical beauty but in her soul, where it counts." Andros sighed and stood slowly. "My friend, I truly wish you were here."

_"I wish I was as well. But I'm an iceblock for the moment, and will be for a while. One day though, I'll wake and we'll be together again, an unstoppable team that'll fight evil for ever." _Andros sighed and nodded, putting his hand on the case again to say farewell for the moment. His eyes were sad and tired.

"Wake up soon my friend, I need you more than you'll ever know." Andros moved quietly out of the hidden room, closing and locking the door behind him. Not knowing that his wish would soon come true and that they would be back together sooner than he thought.


End file.
